new to forum and new to sharpening quality blades.

[ironbike]

Hi
Ive been into knives all my life but i honestly just got into buying real quality blades. With that came the desire to sharpen them myself. I have couple tops knives that i want to sharpen. As a beginner what should i start with? Tops recommended a kit with different degrees and a strop for fine finishing. So is there a difference in barber strops or will any strop work? Will i need any oil for it? Finally which affordable kit is a good starting point, im looking at the lansky delux 5 piece and the spyderco triangle? Will these ruin the blades over time and how often would you suggest i touch up the blades or is it better to just use the strop lightly every once and awhile? Ihave searched the forum for answers but i didnt answers to my specific questions.
I really appreciate any info

 

[calc]

So is there a difference in barber strops or will any strop work?

Any leather will work as long as it doesn't have obvious imperfections in it. Some people also use balsa wood or other material. The main objective is to get a consistent surface.

Will i need any oil for it?

No, you won't. But if you intend on putting compound on it, I've found that some WD-40 helps with its application.

Finally which affordable kit is a good starting point, im looking at the lansky delux 5 piece and the spyderco triangle?

They're both nice kits, but they're geared towards different purposes - the Lansky is meant for heavy reprofiling and general sharpening, whereas the Sharpmaker is made for general sharpening and touchups. Unless you really think you're going to be doing serious grinding, I would go with the Sharpmaker, especially since it's so flexible and adaptable as far as angles go - by propping up the base, you can increase or decrease the angle to whatever you want. Plus, since it's not 100% guided, it'll teach you more about sharpening.

Will these ruin the blades over time

Neither will ruin your knives - if used correctly, you can achieve better sharpness than the factory edge.

how often would you suggest i touch up the blades or is it better to just use the strop lightly every once and awhile?

If it's very slightly dull, strop. If it's slightly dull to dull, sharpen.

 

[ironbike]

What about smiths rotating tri hone 3 stone system? I'm trying not to break the bank but i want something with a fine grit stone and i dont know if the spyderco has a fine

 

[Kai Winters]

Good suggestions.
Also depends on the knife, knives. The Lansky is a good system. It is what I use. I have the stones, diamond hones and ceramic hones. They all work great but for the "super" steels diamond stones/hones work best imo.
The Lansky system is more difficult to use on long blade knives. I use mine for blades up to 4 inches then free hand longer blades.
I make my own strops using good quality leather and green/white strop compound. You can go crazy and spend a bundle on strop compounds...diamond pastes, etc. but I choose not to.

I use the Smiths' tri stone system for my large blades and it works fine. If this is something you really enjoy you can buy higher quality and finer grit stones to really refine your sharpening.

I also suggest starting your learning process with an inexpensive knife. Especially if going free hand...you need to learn to get the feel for keeping your hand steady and at the correct angle for the length of the blade and this takes time and practice...better to do this on a twenty dollar knife than one costing much more. Same for a "system"...learn placement of the blade in the jaws, stroke method that works for you, etc.

If going freehand you may want to pick up an angle finder at your local Home Depot, etc. It is an inexpensive tool that will help you understand and learn the angles you use or want to use when sharpening a knife.

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[ironbike]

I have a couple tops blades that i plan to sharpen thry are smaller edc blades. I think I'm going to get the smiths 3 stone triangle hone because i love using stones byt do not have much experience.so i will practice with some cheaper blades first. The smiths 3,stone also comes with an angle guide. I think for my purpose it will work good since I'm not doing much pure p then general/utility purpose cutting

 

[calc]

What about smiths rotating tri hone 3 stone system? I'm trying not to break the bank but i want something with a fine grit stone and i dont know if the spyderco has a fine

The Smiths Tri Hone is an excellent system for the price - this was actually my first system - but won't be able to handle high wear resistance steels such as S30V, M390, etc. So just be aware of that if you have knives in those steels.

And I believe the Sharpmaker comes with medium and fine rods, and since they're ceramic, will leave a relatively high level of polish.

 

[Elefantener]

I have been sharping my D2 knives on this a long time, just works well.

 

[kn4wd]

if I were going the three stone system, I would buy a soft and medium from smiths and a surgical black or translucent stone from dans. the sb gives a nice edge. if you want to go farther than the arkie then look at the new apache red waterstone, you will have a nice mirrored bevel. the arkies will need a breaking in period after which you will love the edges they produce.